USPS Package Suspension: The U.S. Postal Service said it will suspend parcels coming from China and Hong Kong after President Donald Trump this week closed an exchange escape clause used by retailers such as Temu and Shein to send low-priced bundles duty-free into the U.S.
The Trump administration’s additional 10% tax on Chinese goods that went into effect Tuesday moves closer to the “de minimis” escape clause that allows merchants and U.S. customers to avoid paying duties for bundles valued at less than $800.
The U.S.P.S. said the change would not affect the flow of letters and “flats” coming from China and Hong Kong. It did not immediately comment on whether it was connected to Trump’s shift to fulfilling de minimis shipments from China and other countries.
Fast-fashion retailer Shein and online dollar-store Temu, which both sell items ranging from toys to smartphones, have suspended their tax exemptions to U.S. has grown rapidly in the US, which is very popular as part of the de minimis discount. According to the report, about half of all parcels shipped below the minimum threshold come from China. Shein and Temu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“In our view, it will take some time for the USPS to figure out how to implement modern tariffs to allow Chinese parcels to come to the US again,” said Chelsea Tam, senior price examiner at Morningstar.
“This is a serious challenge for them because there were 4 million minimum parcels per day in 2024, and it is difficult to check all parcels – so it will take time.”
Experts said Trump’s action on the minimum threshold will make goods sold by companies like Shein and Temu more expensive, but it is unlikely to have a significant impact on shipment volumes.
“E-commerce volumes from China have grown by 20-30% in the past year, so it would take a heavy hammer blow to break that level of buyer demand and I have no doubt that just the minimum is enough,” said Nial van de Wouw, chief airfreight officer at cargo giant Xeneta.
“They will still be cheaper than buying through retailers in the U.S. Delays in receiving products due to operational glitches could have a bigger impact than the price.” Shein has already said it is underwriting the change to the minimum provision. Temu, a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant PDD Property, and Singapore-headquartered Shein, which plans to list in London this year, have both taken measures such as sourcing more items from outside China, opening U.S. stockrooms and adding more U.S. sellers to mitigate the impact.
But most of their products are still made in China. Trump forced the additional taxes on Chinese products after he repeatedly warned Beijing it was not doing enough to stop the flow of a dangerous manufactured opioid called fentanyl into the US.
